Celebrating the Musical and Cultural Expressions of the World's Indigenous and Folk Flute Traditions
2026 Classroom Presentations
"Blowing Zen: The Art of Shakuhachi – Tradition, Technique, and Repertoire"
Description Coming Soon
"The Chinese Dizi: A Journey Through History, Craft, and Singapore’s Diverse Music Culture"
Description Coming Soon!
“Bringing Your Music to Life: How to Prepare for Performances, Videos, and Albums”
Description Coming Soon!
"The Nose Flute of Taiwan’s Paiwan Tribe"
This workshop introduces the history, making, and performance practice of the nose flute in Taiwan’s Paiwan tribe. Traditionally played only by men during funerals or royal ceremonies, the instrument served to express grief and devotion, since men were forbidden to cry publicly. The presentation will showcase examples of flutes crafted by the Lin family, including both the nose flute and the dizi, illustrating the intersections of Indigenous and Han Chinese musical traditions in Taiwan.
"Elevating Your Flute Performance with Expressive Techniques"
Have you ever wondered how to take your playing from "meh" to "magical?" When you hear a performance by an artist who moves you, can you identify what sets their performance apart from the others? Are you at a loss for how to make a simple melody sound more beautiful? Having trouble with vibrato? Do not know what to do about "ornaments?" Together, we will look at how breathing and breath control develop dynamics, create musical nuances, amplify articulation effects, and can be combined with finger techniques (ornaments). You will come away with practical exercises to improve your musical expression, and also an improved awareness of how to connect your breath to your musical expression.
The people of the American Southwest have a rich cultural heritage that dates back thousands of years. Marlon Magdalena's presentation will focus on the Pueblo People, and more specifically, the Jemez People. The instructor will begin with an orientation on Pueblo languages and cultures, before delving into his own experiences as a Jemez Pueblo Tribal Member. Artifacts and replicas will be utilized to discuss their usage and meaning in Pueblo culture.
"Pueblo Lifeways and Traditions"
"Beyond the Notes: Expressing Emotion and Story Through the Flute"
Great music is not just about the notes; it is about what lives between them. This interactive workshop explores how to play with emotion, phrasing, and storytelling to deepen your connection to your music. Through guided improvisation and group exploration, participants will discover how tone, space, and breath can communicate feeling and story. You will learn to listen differently, respond intuitively, and let the music speak for you. No advanced skill required, only a willingness to explore and express!
Focus: musicianship, improvisation, emotional connection
Ideal for: all players who want to play with more depth and feeling
"Creating Songs: Where Form and Flow Come Together"
Every flute player has melodies that appear in the moment, brief sparks of inspiration. In this session, we will explore how to recognize those sparks and allow them to take shape as songs that can be shared and remembered.
Through live examples and easy techniques, we will discover how musical ideas can naturally find structure and shape without losing their spirit of freedom. Our songs are living things and continue to evolve each time we play them. By creating songs, we also expand our musical palette and skills. Together we will explore how form and flow can meet, and how our flutes can express both inspiration and intention.
Latin Dance Class and Jam!
This class does double duty!
First Half: Learn some essential Latin dance moves -- salsa and chachachá basic step, right turn, left turn, and cross-body lead, and then you are ready to dance with the classic charanga sounds of the Faulkner-Valiente Family at their evening performance.
Second Half: The Faulkner-Valiente family will provide the rhythm section, you bring your favorite flutes, and we will jam to Latin grooves in keys specifically chosen to be favorable to flutes widely used by WFS Convention attendees.
Meet My Family of World Flutes
Presenter: Suzanne Teng
When and how did I begin playing world flutes? How have these flutes come into my life? And, how have I used my family of world flutes to carve out a unique career as a recording artist, performer, and educator?
For more than four decades, my family of bamboo, wood, clay, and metal children, who come from all around the world, has grown into a large and wonderful clan of distinct voices and personalities. I will bring some of my favorites to the convention, and during this presentation, I will play them for you and share some of the knowledge and personal stories that I have collected over the years. I hope these insights will inspire you on your own journey with world flutes.
"Scottish Flute: Style and Repertoire"
Laura MacKenzie presents a brief overview of the flute in Scottish traditional music, in particular its history, types of flutes, and use. Also, she will discuss Scottish-style techniques in playing traditional music, as well some recommended repertoire.
"Shake Off the Rut!"
In this workshop, Jamie Empert will share techniques that she uses to add variety to her Native American-style flute playing to keep it from feeling repetitive. These techniques will include aspects like playing along with percussion, alternate scales, or variable tempos. Everyone will have an opportunity to practice, so bring a flute!
"Composing the Landscape: A Musical Way to Honor Our Journeys"
This workshop will discuss a variety of techniques to express the mood and/or beauty found in different locations using music. We can learn to improvise music as we see the landscape. We will also learn ways to write a song while visiting a special place, or to compose after the experience we want to remember. Music is a great way to honor our journeys.
"Learning to Make a Sound on a Rim-Blown Flute"
This class present by Stanley Loftness will be devoted to creating the embouchure necessary to play the rim-blown flute.
We will look at different rim-blown embouchure styles and the adjustments necessary for each embouchure.
Participants will be provided with a practice flute during class to start and develop the embouchure. Since each participant will practice on their own flute, the class size is limited to 20 active participants, although everyone is invited to observe and learn.
